Sleep regression, growth spurt or both? Either way, momma is tired...

[Seachelle1512]

Hello! This site was very helpful to me at week 8 when my LO had her days and nights mixed. From week 9-15 she did great,  napped great and was sleeping 10-12hrs straight every night, even through the transition to daycare at 11wks she was pretty unphased as far as schedule goes. Week 12 she had maybe 3 NWs, but then went back to the old pattern.

Week 15 started more night NWs and what I'm not sure is a growth spurt, sleep regression or both.

At daycare M-F 8-5 she uses a paci (which I ask them to not use at every nap, but I'm not sure if that happens) and takes most naps in her crib except the last one if she fights she ends up in the swing. She eats 4oz bottles at every daycare feeding.

On the weekends she does not get the paci regularly for naps (I resort to it only as the last option) and she never gets it at night. She is able to go down drowsy and fall asleep sucking her thumb for naps and BT. Not every single time but she is capable.

Below are her EAS records, at daycare M-F. I wake her at 7:00 and she's at daycare by 8:00.

Wed
A 7:00, E 7:05, S 8:30-9:15
A 9:15, E 9:30, S 11:50-12:20
A 12:20, E 12:30, S 2:00-4:05
A 4:05, E 4:15, S 5:45-6:15 car ride home
A 6:15, E 6:25, bath, E 7:28, S 8:00p-7:00a

Thurs
A 7:05, E 7:10, S 8:30-10:40
A 10:40, E 10:50, S 12:50-2:15
A 2:15, E 2:15 & 4:20, S 5:45-6:30 car ride home
A 6:30, E 6:30 E 7:20, S 8-12:30, A 12:30-1, refused to nurse, S 1-7

Fri
A 7:00, E 7:05, S 8:15-9:25
A 9:25, E 9:45, S 10:55-1:10
A 1:10, E 1:10, E 4:15, S 5:00-5:30 in swing at daycare
A 5:30, E 6:20 E 6:45 E 7:30, S 8:00p-6:50a

Sat woke at 6:50 on her own
A 6:50, E 7:00, S 8:10-9:10, 9:30-10
A 10:00, E 10:15, S 11:30-12:00
A 12:30, E 1:00, S 2:50-3:40
A 3:40, E 3:45, S 5:10-5:40
A 5:40, E 5:50, bath, E 6:50, E 7:35, S 8-6:40

Sun woke at 6:40 on her own
A 6:40, E 6:45, S 8:00-9:20 1hr20
A 9:20, E 9:30, S 11:30-12:15, 12:30-1 1hr15
A 1:00, E 1:00, 3:30-3:50 20m
A 3:50, E 3:50, S 5:00-5:30
A 5:30, E 5:30, 6:20, 7:20, 8:25
S 8:40-11:30, E 11:30, S 12-4, A 4:00. Tried just rocking back to sleep then PD in crib, it worked but then 20m later was awake again, so I fed at 4:45am. She was asleep by 5:00. My alarm will go off at 6:00 for work and I'm doubtful I'll fall back asleep.

I'm not sure what to do especially with her at daycare. I tried asking for no paci around wk 14 because they created that crutch with her and it was ROUGH. She would only sleep like 2hrs there then was coming home and napping at 6pm before going to sleep at 8.

So she has a paci/nap crutch at daycare, and about a 50% rock-to-nap crutch at home, and nurses to sleep most nights. I'm not sure where to start trying to end these NWs, but a week of not sleeping well and working M-F 8-5 is wearing down on me.

[Seachelle1512]

Just to clarify, Sunday (yesterday, the last log I provided) was the 16 week mark for us. She had 2 nights of NWs in week 14 and 5 nights of NWs in week 15. Not looking forward to week 16 at this rate ...

[jessmum46]

((Hugs)) it must be tough to have to work with a LO so young.  I hate to say it though but her nights are pretty normal for a not quite 4 month old....of the nights you posted she seems to have slept through 3 out of 5 nights, had one night with one waking and one night with two.  That's totally normal at this age and in fact better than many.  It could be growth spurts and I would always treat as such in the first instance in one this young. Offering a feed at the night wakings is a good plan for now and might get you both back off to sleep more quickly.  Will she take any more at any of her daytime feedings? If she is draining bottles then add another oz and see how she goes as she may wake less at night if taking more of her calories in the day.  Other than that if you are teaching her good sleep habits and giving her opportunities to self-settle when you can I'm not sure there is a great deal else you can do right now.  Have you got any support or anyone who could handle a NW for you?  This may be about seeing what you can change for you to make this easier to manage rather than expecting her to do something she may not be able to do.  Babies often start to wake more at night around 4 months even if they have previously slept through and it doesn't necessarily mean there is anything 'wrong'.   Perhaps you could go to bed earlier and get in an extra bit of sleep before she wakes again?  Or have you ever tried the dream feed?  In my experience babies can learn to sleep very differently in different settings so I wouldn't worry about the fact she almost always needs the paci at daycare as she has shown she is perfectly capable of managing without sometimes at home. But being realistic sleep is often wonky at daycare and out of your control, and it is as much about learning to live with the bumps that daycare brings as it is 'fixing' any kind of problem.

Sorry I know there's no magic wand fix in there, but I think to expect a LO of this age not to disturb your sleep regularly is perhaps just not quite achievable.  It won't last forever, I can promise, but many hugs in the meantime while you get through it x

[Seachelle1512]

Thanks for replying!

I've thought about making a couple 5oz bottles to see how she does, but wasn't sure if that would be too much for her size/age (16wks about 12lbs, normal growth pattern so far since she was under 7lbs at birth).

By the good sleeping habits do you mean using ssh/pat again? I kinda stopped that when sucking her thumb became the way she put herself to sleep.

Yeah the last 6wks of 10-12hrs straight were AMAZING, especially with me starting work. Was hoping the sleep regression would magically skip us or just last a short time haha  yeah right

I had read that the 4 month regression could be permanent which is basically my worst fear. I do try to go to bed early, several nights lately I was asleep by 9:00/9:30, about 1-2hrs after she falls asleep.

[jessmum46]

Usual advice with bottles is if they are draining them to add a bit more, you ideally want them to stop feeding when they have stopped being hungry, rather than when the bottle is empty.  So I'd add a bit more and see how she goes.

Yes by good sleep habits I mean a routine as far as you are able, a nice bedtime wind down and the opportunity to self-settle when she can

The 4 month regression can be a bit of a killer but in my experience really only tends to cause big issues for an extended period if you continue to use props for every sleep.  I wouldn't say how your nights are looking is regression per se, as I said before I do think they are well within normal for this age, but hang in there and it will come right eventually!